Articles

Congratulations to Mike Zaro! He is CrossFit Puyallup’s December 2015 Athlete of the Month! Mike began his CrossFit Puyallup journey in February 2015. You can catch him bright and early in the morning classes! Mike said his experiences with the coaches and...

I am sure most of you have met Coach Dale Reichert at a class or two. Those of you that have not, be sure to say hello and welcome! We would like to take this opportunity to help you to get to know our new coach a bit better! Dale...

by Sarah Henderson Congratulations to our CrossFit Puyallup Athlete of the month for August! Jeremy Cowart! Be sure to Hi-5 Jeremy the next time you WOD with him! He started attending Crossfit Puyallup in May of 2014. When Jeremy...

KENT ROSS by Sarah Henderson Congratulations to Kent Ross, CrossFit Puyallup’s athlete of the month! He has been such a joy to be around and his positive attitude is highly contagious. He never takes it easy...

Kristin Davidson-Baldauf, is our new Yoga instructor. She is also the wife of our Coach Troy. She was also our New Year’s Food Challenge winner! Here is a bit more about this extraordinary gal! Kristin decided to participate in the food challenge for a few reasons. She had not been...

“Fundraiser for Baby Bennett” This Saturdays WODs will be performed in support of Coach Jon and his wife, Andrea’s son, Bennett. Bennett was born with Sprengel’s Deformity – a rare congenital skeletal abnormality where one shoulder blade sits higher on the back than the other. The deformity is due to...

by Sarah Henderson Our March Athlete of the Month is a class act! She is the amazing and talented mother of four with one on the way, Jen Green! She is such an inspiration to us all! Jen was introduced to CrossFit in 2011 in Florida after her husband, Sam,...

by Sarah Henderson It’s that time of year again fellow CrossFitters!! The 2015 Crossfit OPEN is just around the corner starting February 26th and going through March 30th. With the OPEN approaching, we have heard a lot of buzz around the box. Some excitement, some nervousness, and some fear! Mostly we have...

by Sarah Henderson As we near the end of another Food Challenge we wanted to share the story of our last winner, Megan Gallwas. She is the winner of Crossfit Puyallup’s 2014 Fall Food Challenge! Megan wanted to participate in the food challenge for personal accountability. She was not seeing...

ROB GALLWAS By Sarah Henderson Our February athlete of the month came at no surprise. We all know and love athlete, Rob Gallwas! Rob began his CrossFit journey in July 2013. Rob was broken when he started his journey. He was at 330lbs from a poor diet of energy drinks,...

Can I do CrossFit?

Have you ever wondered if CrossFit was “right” for you? Are all of your “fit” friends doing it? Have you thought that CrossFit is way too hard for you? Well, I would like to encourage you to read a little story about a man who didn’t let any of those questions get in his way. I would like to introduce you a remarkable athlete who has proven that Crossfit is right for him, that he is more fit and it is for anyone at any fitness level. Derek Rand.

Derek has an inspiring story to tell of his journey to fitness through CrossFit. I am privileged that he chose CrossFit Puyallup to begin his journey. I have found myself, on numerous occasions, in tears because of the purpose and drive that Derek exhibits in his workouts and the changes he has made in his life outside of the gym. He inspires me. Maybe he will inspire you too.

~Crystal Schiemer, Owner/Head Coach, Crossfit Puyallup

Here is Derek’s story in his words……

My entire life I have been over weight. I have tried just about everything, I was even a vegetarian for 3 years (shudders). I was never in denial about my weight, I just didn’t know any better. Being social wasn’t fun because of the accommodations everyone had to make for me, having to move tables so I could fit in a booth, or not being able to even clothe myself properly. Trying to deal with the day to day of being overweight lead to depression, which lead to a quiet dark moody self.

My turning point which set me on my CrossFit path, was when the Safety Administrator for my job informed that he had to order a special harness and tether for me. He also gently informed me that they did not make the harnesses them any bigger. Meaning if I was not able to be safe in my job, I most likely would have to take a demotion.

Since joining I have turned myself around. I have gone from almost hyperventilating, being coached on how to breathe, from not able to run at all, to running a 5k, setting a record in my back squat, to taking first place in my food challenge, my progression amazes me day to day. Food challenges have been successful for my health and my overall opinion on food itself. I have been through two challenges so far and lost 45 pounds, the pounds keep falling off. I can buy clothes now that fit and have breathing space in any booth. It feels like a freedom I have long desired, which is something I can smile at.

My experience at CrossFit Puyallup has been and will continue to be life changing. I have made so many friends and the support from everyone is amazing. It is so great to hear people cheering for you during the WOD and high-fiving each other after. It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you are currently at because everyone supports each other. Crystal and Kym have created an environment that is inviting to everyone not to mention the knowledge and expertise they bring .I can’t thank them enough for helping me become a better person both inside and out.